Movie Review: The Ghazi Attack leftright 3/3leftright

In an early scene in war movie “The Ghazi Attack”, a character explains how a submarine works – with the help of an egg. To demonstrate what water pressure can do to the vessel deep in the ocean, he smashes the egg with his hand, splattering yellow and white everywhere. The scene is important in explaining situations later on in the story, but is also the perfect metaphor for a film that cracks under the weight of a thousand cliches.

Debutant director Sankalp Reddy’s film starts with a disclaimer about all the things it is not (not meant to incite violence, not meant to dispute alternate versions of the story, etc), but one thing is for sure – “The Ghazi Attack” is an exercise in jingoism disguised as a war film. Soldiers sing the national anthem while they are being hit by enemy torpedoes and a captain says things like “the people of our country are working hard because they know we are protecting borders” as he and his entire crew face death 300 metres below the sea.

At the bare bones, this is the story of how India’s navy sank the Pakistani submarine INS Ghazi a day before the two countries went to war in 1971. Since there are no official versions of what actually happened, the director is free to take liberties with the plot. His version has Rana Daggubati playing Arjun, an upright officer whose mission is to deal with his imperious captain Rannvijay Singh (Kay Kay Menon). Singh would rather annihilate the enemy in front of him than wait for his superiors to tell him what to do, something Arjun doesn’t agree with. Their spats make up for most of the first half of the film, but the clash of personalities doesn’t lead to too many electric scenes, thanks to some choppy writing.

But where “The Ghazi Attack” lacks in terms of human drama, it makes up for with attention to detail. Shivam Rao’s production design makes sure that the under-water experience feels real, and the scenes where the submarine is under attack are shot really well.

The performances follow the clichéd script to the T – Indian soldiers are all heroic and brimming with national pride, while the evil Pakistani captain (Rahul Singh) is perpetually scowling. Menon distinguishes himself as the arrogant captain but the rest of the cast, including Daggubati and Atul Kulkarni, are hardly up to the mark. Taapsee Pannu, who plays a Bangladeshi refugee, has no role other than to peer out of rooms with a stricken look every time something happens on the submarine (She’s probably wondering why she was cast in the film at all).

“The Ghazi Attack” is stylishly shot and employs technology on screen better than many other Bollywood films, but its story-telling is reminiscent of patriotic films from the 60s and 70s, when a “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogan and the waving of a tricolor was enough to evoke rapturous applause from the audience.

Mumbai, March 19: Superstar Salman Khan on Monday treated his fans to the first look from his much-anticipated film “Race 3”. He will be seen as racer Sikander, who is smart, emotional but mysterious as well.

With a serious look on his face, the actor is seen wearing a smart suit with stylish glares and holding a gun in the image.

“I will introduce my ‘Race 3’ family to you this week… My name is Sikander. Selfless over selfish. ‘Race 3’ this Eid,” Salman posted on Twitter while sharing the image.

Mumbai, March 19: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has the ‘Most Followed Account’ and cricket star Virat Kohli has got the ‘Most Engaged Account’ on Instagram, according to the Instagram Awards which have been announced for the first time in India.

Kohli has 19.8 million followers as on Monday. His account generated the biggest number of engagements when all likes and comments from the content that he shared in 2017 — except ‘Story’ views and video views — were aggregated.

The list, which acknowledges photo-sharing platform Instagram’s most engaging community members, also recognises Emerging Account and 20 Million Milestones.

In the Most Followed Account category, Priyanka Chopra trailed behind Deepika’s 22.4 million followers with a count of 22 million, and Alia Bhatt rounded up the top three with 20.8 million followers.

Deepika said in a statement: “Staying connected with my fans and loved ones is extremely important to me. I value the love, support and connection I share with them and I hope I continue to remain true and authentic.”

Actor Ishaan Khatter, who will be seen in “Dhadak”, has been named for India’s ‘Emerging Account’ for growing his fanbase on Instagram significantly throughout 2017.

For Ishaan, Instagram is his most loved social media platform.

“It’s a non-stop source for inspiration from people and personalities all over the world. I find it especially enjoyable because it’s about connecting through pictures and videos. On a more personal note it’s almost like a time machine for your memories and a way to immortalise your favourite moments.

“It’s lovely connecting with others through this medium and I look forward to being inspired and hopefully inspiring more people in the future, too,” he said.

Alia also got a ‘milestone plaque’ with Shraddha Kapoor in recognition for building a community of 20 million followers.

“We are thrilled about the possibilities that our partnership with one of the world’s biggest superstars, Aamir Khan, will open up for Vivo in India,” said Kenny Zeng, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Vivo India.

“This new association will enable us to explore newer avenues to reach our customers as we script our future growth strategy in India,” Zeng added.

Aamir will soon be seen in a full-fledged marketing campaign around the upcoming products and a new TV commercial.

“Vivo as a brand embodies the spirit of innovation and meaningful disruption,” said Aamir.

“Over the years, the brand has been constantly pushing the boundaries of smartphone technology. I am enthused to be a part of Vivo’s transformative journey in India,” the actor added.

Vivo is also associated with popular sports platforms such as Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pro-Kabaddi League in the country.

Vivo entered India in late 2014.

With a manufacturing unit in Greater Noida, the company has a robust distribution network across the country both online and offline — catering to over 400 cities in 22 states backed by 400 service centres.